The fist up in the series: The Painted Hills, Oregon.

The Painted Hills are listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon. Scaling hills that show colourful layers corresponding to various geological eras, formed when the area was an ancient river floodplain. The Hills' varying colours originate from 35 million years ago, when this area was an ancient river floodplain.

The coloured bands differ in tones due to the changes in climate that occurred through time. As the climate changed to a more tropical setting with distinct wet and dry seasons, reddish and yellowish layers formed that are made up of laterites, soils rich in iron and aluminium. Red soils come from a more tropical period, while the yellows are from a drier and cooler time. The darker, black soil is lignite that was vegetative matter that grew along the floodplain. The grey colouring is mudstone, siltstone, and shale.

As we move through time, the colour will continue to develop and change. What will the colours of The Panted Hills look like in the future as our climate develops?